p.7 One of the most important lessons I learned during my time with [business consulting
company] McKinsey was... that effective decision making requires a hypothesis.
p.17-18 learning to meditate will invariably help your well-being... you will feel the benefits almost immediately...
The core benefit of meditation is that it's a proven way to truly rest and clear your mind.
p.18-19 What would you say if I told you that by practicing meditation you could have the following benefits?
- Improved career performance and prospects
- Better health in body and mind
- Enhanced love life!
p.20 Many of us are paid to use our minds to add value to the organization and communities we work in. To
do this, we must have the clarity to make better decisions and the ability to focus our minds to the task at hand, so that
we use more of our mental capacities. By actively training in these areas, we can enhance our careers and offer more value.
p.20 The most important factor in effective and sound decision making is clarity of mind.
If your mind is full of mental noise or distracting thoughts, then it will have to work harder, and take longer, to process
information and make decisions.
p.21 In the "Before" phase of the illustration above, the thinker's mind is full of mental chatter.
As a result, he can't clearly perceive the object at hand. By contrast, with Mental Resilience Training he is able to settle
his mind and focus effectively on the object to make an insightful and effective decision. Once you establish a sustained
meditation practice, you become aware of the mental chatter and more adept at clearing it. You have the tools to develop some
space to perceive a situation with greater clarity before you make any crucial decisions.
p.22 Through the discipline of learning to focus on a single point, you will gain the skills to do your best
work.
p.34 the things that meditation offers: mental peace, mental resilience, and the skills to make better decisions
in daily life.
p.34-38 Misconception 1: Meditation Is Only about Relaxation... meditation... enables you to delve deep
inside yourself, into the subconscious and unconscious levels of your mind. Through this, you gain an awareness of what drives
your actions and what underlies your decision-making processes. This state is often called centeredness. Simply,
it means that your decisions come from awareness, not from transient mental clutter... Misconception 2: Meditation Means Going
into a Trance... Meditation is a more direct, raw experience of reality... Misconception 3: Meditation Is Just a Fad... meditation
has been a cornerstone of Eastern philosophy for thousands of years... Misconception 4: Meditation Is Only for Holy People...
Meditation is a practice of calm, focused thinking and attention that is available to, and effective for, everyone... Misconception
5: Meditation Makes You Spaced Out... Meditation enables you to experience the reality of your emotions head on and simultaneously
develop your ability to focus... Misconception 6: Meditation Takes Up Too Much Time... With increased mental focus, the effective
time you spend with family or at work will increase in intensity and quality... Misconception 7: Meditation Requires Thinking about
Nothing... Meditation helps you make peace with whatever is going on in your mind.
p.71 It does not matter how slowly you go, so long as you do not stop. Confucius
p.103-104 As with many concepts... it is easier to understand what each is when we think about its opposite.
p.105 Many people pride themselves on their objectivity in decision making, imagining that they use solely
facts and figures to assess a situation. But as I learned in the investment markets, "money always follows a good story."
Analysts can investigate the numbers all they want, but investors and investment professionals invariably are persuaded as
much by a good story as by impeccable numbers.
p.106 There are various ways to develop awareness or sensitivity in our conscious and subconscious minds.
Awareness allows us to make the right choices, not necessarily to change what happens to us but to change
how we respond to what happens.
p.165-166 Some describe the state of mindfulness as a beginner's mind. The best way to
illustrate this is to imagine infants playing with a new toy. Rather than merely glancing at the toy, they really look at
it, truly seeing everything in front of them. They sometimes bring it very close to their eyes. They might try to smell it
and will squeeze it to feel the texture. they might try to hit it. But their full attention is focused on it. Children
will engage with objects from a sense of wonder that we adults unfortunately have forgotten.
